What Do You Want Your Legacy to Be?

I’m going to start this article by saying something shocking…

You don’t want to BUY a business.

You don’t even want to OWN a business.

You don’t.

Now, before you think quarantine has made me go gaga, let me explain.

What you REALLY want – at a deep emotional level – is NOT the buying or owning of a business… it’s the BENEFITS that come from business ownership and the MASSIVE impact it will make on your life.

When you buy a business and become the business owner, there are MULTIPLE benefits that come to you as a direct result.

Including (in no particular order)…

• Cash flow – As the owner of the business, the monthly cash flow (after the payments you make to service the deal, i.e., the seller financing) is YOURS

• Wealth creation – As you grow the value of the business, it’s also increasing your wealth creation. And when you sell the business on later, you can make a significant amount of money

• Work-life balance – Working for others limits the time you can spend with your family and friends doing what you love. I know because I’ve been there. I used to work 80 hours a week buying businesses for wealthy corporates. Now I OWN multiple businesses and essentially work part time, with general managers (GMs) operating those businesses for me

• Pride – To go from EMPLOYEE to EMPLOYER will give you an enormous sense of pride. Imagine walking into your local bar or golf club and telling your buddies you OWN a business, YOU call the shots and can work whenever you choose

• Assurance – Knowing YOU are in control of your life and your destiny. No relying on anyone else… No possibility of being furloughed again… Nobody is going to fire you or bark orders at you… ever.

And finally – the reason why I do deals…

Don’t get me wrong. All of the above are important, but there is one MASSIVE benefit that trumps them.

Legacy.

At its core, legacy is simply something that is the result of events in the past. But it’s SO much more than that…

As humans, LEGACY is what we do, what we build and what we stand for.

It’s what our children, their children, extended family, peers and community all remember us by.

And the fact is the majority of small-business owners care more about their legacy than they do about money.

MY legacy is to do TWO things…

• Solve the perennial problem of small-business owners not being able to sell and exit their businesses in a dignified way.

• And empower entrepreneurs to quit working for other people and not start businesses, but buy existing ones instead.

So I’m buying businesses through my private equity firm, Prox Capital Group, and also coaching entrepreneurs to follow in my footsteps.

That’s what my family, community and peers will remember once I have departed this planet. My legacy will live beyond me through my businesses and my students.

I was thinking about legacy a lot this past weekend…

If you follow U.K. news, you might have read about retired Capt. Tom Moore. To commemorate his 100th birthday while he is isolated like the rest of us, he decided to walk around his garden 100 times with the aid of his walking frame.

Tom hoped to raise £1,000 ($1,300) for the National Health Service doctors and nurses who are leading the charge against COVID-19 here in the U.K.

However, he didn’t raise £1,000…

At the time of writing, Tom has raised a staggering £26 MILLION!!

He has become a national – if not global – hero. People are saying he should get a knighthood. But that’s not why he did it.

Tom is a WWII veteran with a strong sense of civic duty. He wanted to raise funds to give back and help people.

Pay it forward.

This selfless, patriotic and truly incredible act is one of the most profound examples of people stepping up that I have ever seen.

This weekend, I also saw something on social media that actually brought tears to my eyes.

It reminded me of the movie The Iron Giant. (Read my major dealmaking lessons from that movie here.)

It’s a drawing of Tom… but the shadow he casts is much larger than himself.

That, my friends, is what it means to build a legacy.

Tom will be remembered forever for what he did. Can you imagine the ripple effect that will have on his family and everyone who knows him?

That’s why my legacy is important to me. Even though I may never be remembered in the same way as Tom, I want to leave a lasting impression on this world.

That’s why I do what I do.

Until next time, bye for now.